This invention relates to an aqueous polyurethane dispersion particularly suitable as a coating composition. The dispersion is also useful in adhesive applications.
Polyurethane coating compositions are important commercial products. They provide a tough, flexible, abrasion-resistant finish for a variety of industrial articles made of wood, metal, glass, ceramic materials, and fabrics. Because of the difficulty of dispersing polyurethanes in water, the usual commercial polyurethane compositions are solutions or dispersions in organic solvents. However, these solvent-based products have several shortcomings, especially high cost, high flammability, and toxicity of solvent vapors. There is, therefore, a great need for polyurethane coating compositions based on water dispersions.